


Hiding It

by awgaskarth0805



Category: All Time Low (Band)
Genre: Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-05
Updated: 2018-11-05
Packaged: 2019-08-19 03:22:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16526381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awgaskarth0805/pseuds/awgaskarth0805
Summary: Alex gets sick on tour and tries to hide it from his bandmates.





	Hiding It

If Alex knew one thing about himself, it was that he got sick a lot. Usually, if they toured for a little over forty weeks of the year, he spent about ten of them feeling unwell. Recently, he had managed to not get sick, which was something that he was very happy about. He didn’t know how he’d managed to stay healthy this long, but he was happy nonetheless. When he woke up one morning with a sore throat, he decided to not give it too much thought. He figured that it was from all the singing that his job required, and shrugged it off. He got out of his bed, and went to the back lounge, where the rest of his bandmates were playing a videogame.   
“There he is! You know, it’s been almost a whole six weeks since you’ve gotten sick, that’s pretty impressive for you,” Rian said, partly kidding and partly serious.  
“Yeah, it’s been pretty nice feeling normal for once,” Alex replied, making everyone laugh. He sat down and grabbed a controller, so he could play, too. After about ten minutes, Alex started to feel warm, and paused the game that they were playing.   
“What’re you doing?” Zack asked.  
“I want to take this hoodie off, I don’t really need it,” Alex said, earning confused looks from the rest of the band. “What, is it not hot in here?”  
“I guess, we just didn’t notice or something,” Rian replied.  
“Are you okay, Alex?” Jack asked.  
“Yeah, I’m fine, why?” Alex asked, already knowing the answer.  
“Well, do you think that your six-week streak is ending?” Jack questioned. Alex knew that it probably was, but didn’t want to admit it, and he didn’t want everyone to worry about him.  
“Not really, you guys are just weird. Let’s play again,” Alex said, taking pause off.  
“What do we have to do today?” Rian asked everyone.  
“We have an interview at the venue we’re playing at tomorrow night, then probably dinner and some sightseeing,” Jack replied. Alex hoped that his body would just let him get through the next couple of days as they went back to their game.  
\------  
When Alex got out of the shower a couple hours later, he was freezing. The whole time he was in the bathroom getting ready, his teeth were chattering, which made it hard for him to move quickly. When he was ready, he looked at himself in the mirror, and assessed himself. He didn’t look as bad as he felt, which was good. At this point, he was feeling bad. He had chills, which unfortunately meant that he had a fever. He felt very tired, and his body was starting to hurt. His throat was sore, and his head was very congested. He blew his nose before leaving the bathroom.  
“Great, Alex is here, now we can leave for the interview. After it’s over, we can go to a restaurant then do some sightseeing,” Rian explained to everyone. They all walked off the bus, and over to the venue. It was currently fall, so it wasn’t cold or warm outside, it was a nice in between. Despite this, Alex was still freezing, and pulled his jacket tighter around him. Jack noticed him doing this, and felt suspicious.   
“You alright, man?” Jack asked, starting to feel concerned.  
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Alex replied, walking ahead of Jack, not wanting to talk about his health right now. When they got into the venue, they went backstage, and found a seating area with a camera. Rian and Zack talked to the crew, and found out that their interview would start in just a few minutes. The four of them sat on the couch, Jack on the end, Alex next to him, then Rian, and Zack on the other end. Suddenly, Alex broke into a coughing fit.  
“Are you okay?” Rian asked, patting his friend’s back.  
“Yeah, I’m good,” Alex replied, once the fit subsided. Jack gave him a look, but Alex chose to ignore it. Seconds later, the interviewer walked over to them, and sat down.  
“Are you guys ready to get started?” she asked. They all said yes, and then the camera started rolling. The interview went by fast, she asked all the usual questions, some having to do with the city they were currently in. Once they were done, it was about six. They walked out of the venue, and walked the streets until they found a place that they wanted to eat at. If Alex wasn’t feeling so bad, he would’ve tried a bunch of new things, and really get his money’s worth, but not today. He just got a bowl of soup and some water.  
“That’s all you’re getting?” Zack asked.  
“Yeah, I’m not super hungry right now,” Alex replied. No one tried to question Alex after that. They started a conversation about their tour, but Alex didn’t participate in it very much. His throat was hurting more now, and talking seemed to make it worse. Once their food was brought out, the smell of all of it made Alex’s stomach feel queasy. He did his best to ignore the feeling, and eat his soup. Eventually, he finished it, hoping that it would just stay down. When they left the restaurant, it was about eight.  
“What should we do now?” Rian asked the other three.  
“I kind of want to go back to the bus, I’m a bit sleepy,” Alex replied, getting shocked looks from the band.  
“Suit yourself, we’ll all go then and be back later,” Zack said back.  
“See you guys later,” Alex said, before walking back to the bus. He figured that this was going to make them all even more suspicious, but he wanted nothing more than to be wrapped up in a blanket and watching a movie. When he got on, he quickly changed into sweats, and grabbed his blanket from his bunk. He turned on the TV in the back lounge, and went to Netflix. After browsing for a while, he decided on Friends. He’d seen it many times, but didn’t know what else to watch. After clicking on the first episode that came on, he burst into a coughing fit. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to hide this much longer, but he was going to try. Once the fit was gone, he got as comfortable as he could, and fell asleep not much after.  
\------  
“Alex, you need to wake up,” Jack said, shaking his friend. Alex groaned as the sun shined in his face from the blinds.  
“Are you okay?” Jack asked. Alex remembered that he didn’t want to concern his friends before answering.  
“Yeah, I’m fine. I was just really tired for some reason last night,” Alex replied.  
“Is that because you’re not feeling well?” Jack questioned.  
“I feel just fine,” Alex replied before sneezing.  
“Alex,” Jack started.  
“I’m okay. How long until we have to be ready?” Alex asked, desperately trying to get Jack to change the subject.  
“Well, we have to be there in a few hours, then do soundcheck, then we’re all going out to eat, then we’ll have about an hour before the show starts,” Jack explained.  
“Okay, I’ll get up to shower like thirty minutes before we have to be in the venue,” Alex decided.  
“What’re you going to do until then?” Jack asked.  
“Relax, I just want to do nothing right now,” Alex replied.  
“Suit yourself, I’m going to go to the front with the rest of the guys,” Jack said, getting up. Alex knew that Jack was onto him, but he didn’t want to tell him how awful he was feeling, at least not yet.  
\-------  
Three hours had passed, and it was time for soundcheck. Alex had gotten up to get ready about thirty minutes before. His appearance was starting to show how felt, which he knew wasn’t good. His throat hurt even more now, and all his body was aching. He felt generally worse, and wasn’t sure how he was going to make it through the rest of the day. When they got inside the venue, they all took their places on the stage. Since his body hurt so much, the weight of his guitar felt heavier than normal.  
“Let’s do this, so we can go out to eat!” Rian exclaimed, making Jack and Zack laugh. Normally, Alex would laugh at something like this too, but his head started to really hurt, and he decided that laughing would be a bad idea. They started their soundcheck with their opening song. As it went on, Alex felt progressively worse. By the end of it, he felt terrible. He wanted to lay in the dressing room, but he knew that if he didn’t join the rest of the band to get dinner, they would be able to figure it all out right there.  
“Where are we getting dinner at?” Alex asked. Food was the last thing he wanted, but questions from his bandmates would be worse, he decided.  
“There’s a Steak N’ Shake right near here, let’s go there,” Jack suggested. Alex didn’t really want fried food and ice cream right now, but he went along with it anyway. Everyone agreed to it, so they walked out of the venue, and to the restaurant. It was a short walk, but Alex was so tired that it felt like it took an hour. When they got there, they were immediately seated.   
“What’re you guys getting?” Zack asked.  
“Not sure, but definitely a milkshake,” Jack replied.  
“Let’s all get shakes,” Rian suggested. Alex groaned, but smiled at everyone. Eventually, a waiter took their orders. Alex got a salad, and a vanilla milkshake, feeling very nervous about how his stomach would handle this.  
“That’s a boring order, Alex. You usually get better stuff,” Rian criticized. Jack gave his friend a suspicious look.  
“Well, I’m just in the mood for something plain, I’ll get something more exciting next time,” Alex justified. Everyone stayed quiet after this, but Alex was certain that Jack knew what was going on. When their food came out, Alex’s stomach turned at the smell. Even though he knew that it was bad idea, Alex slowly ate his food. He ended up eating the whole salad, and finished almost all of his shake. After they’d payed, they walked out, and back to the venue. A mixture of the shake and the fever running through his body had made Alex’s chills worse than they had been earlier.   
“We have thirty minutes until we have to go on. Let’s all meet at the stage entrance about five minutes before we walk on,” Rian explained. They all agreed to this, then walked into the venue. Alex went right to his dressing room. His stomach was killing him because of the food he’d just put into it, and he didn’t want to throw up, so he took some stomach relaxers. He sat on the couch until he was due at the stage entrance. He felt much worse than he had that morning, and he knew that he would only feel worse after the show. He promised himself that he would tell his bandmates about how he was feeling as soon as they walked offstage. They had a few days off after this show, so Alex figured that this would be alright. He took a deep breath before walking out of the green room, and to the stage entrance. The rest of the band was already there, they were talking and looked very excited.  
“Finally, you’re here!” Zack exclaimed.  
“Yeah, I sure am. Let’s do this!” Alex said, trying his best to seem okay.  
“It’s time for you guys to go on!” the stage tech exclaimed. Rian, Jack and Zack all ran onstage, but Alex trailed behind a bit. He really wanted to walk right back off and lay down, he felt completely miserable at this point. He knew that he just had to do his best to get through the night. They said hello to the crowd, then started up their first song. As the show progressed, Alex felt worse and worse. He’d barely made it through Therapy, and he knew that he probably wouldn’t be able to last much longer. When the rest of the band came back onstage, they started to play Weightless. Jack looked over at Alex, and could tell that something was wrong with him, and hoped that he wasn’t feeling as bad as he looked. After the first chorus, Alex’s stomach flipped, and he quickly backed away from the microphone. His bandmates looked over at him, feeling concerned. Seconds later, he ran offstage to be sick. Their stage manager told them to get through the rest of the set somehow, since they only had about five more songs left. Their manager helped Alex until he was done, then took him back onto the bus. He helped him change into his PJs, and set him up in the back lounge, then went back to the venue, since he was supposed to stay there for the entire show. Back onstage, Jack and Zack explained that Alex wasn’t feeling well enough to go back onstage that night, but that they were still going to finish out their set. The two of them did their best to sing Alex’s parts in the songs, and had a few fans from the crowd help them out as well. Once they were done, they all apologized one last time before walking offstage.  
“Let’s go right to the bus,” Rian decided, and the other two agreed. They walked out of the venue, and onto the bus. They immediately heard coughing coming from the back lounge, so they went there. They opened the door, and found Alex looking miserable, and a bit pale.  
“Alex, what the fuck?” Rian asked.  
“What a way to treat a sick person,” Alex replied, blowing his nose.  
“Alex, I think what Rian was trying to get at, is why didn’t you tell us that you felt so bad?” Jack asked, sitting next to his best friend.  
“We only had one more show, I thought I could just make it through this one, then rest up on our off days. I didn’t expect all of this,” Alex explained.  
“Please just tell us next time,” Zack requested.  
“I will, I’m sorry,” Alex replied, sneezing.  
“Now that we’ve figured all of this out, Alex, have you taken your temperature?” Jack asked. Alex just shook his head. Jack grabbed the thermometer, and gave it to Alex.  
“101.7, that’s high, you must be feeling pretty bad,” Jack said.  
“Yeah, I do, I-“ Alex cut himself off, bursting into a very painful sounding coughing fit. Jack rubbed his back until it was gone.  
“I hate this,” Alex said, feeling defeated.  
“Why don’t we all relax and watch a movie with you?” Jack suggested.  
“Sure, I’ll get us some blankets and pillows,” Zack offered.  
“I’ll get the three of us some snacks,” Rian said, following Zack out of the lounge.  
“I’m sorry,” Alex said out of nowhere.  
“Please don’t do this again. I know how much you love to be onstage, and that’s great, but don’t risk your health like this,” Jack replied.  
“I won’t I promise,” Alex said back. The other two came back, and they all got comfortable, and made sure that Alex was warm, since he was still shivering from his chills. The spent the rest of the night watching movies and helping Alex when he needed it.  
\------  
Three days later, it was time for another show again. At this point, Alex was feeling almost perfect. He still had a bit of a cough but was nowhere near where he was a few days ago. They all took turns looking after him, but it was mostly Jack. It was just minutes until they were set to run onstage that evening.  
“Alex, if you start to feel bad again, please tell us this time,” Rian instructed.  
“I will, don’t worry. Thank you, guys, for taking care of me, especially you, Jack,” Alex said, smiling at his friends.  
“If I get sick, it’s on you, Gaskarth,” Jack joked.  
“Yeah, whatever,” Alex replied with a laugh.  
“It’s show time guys!” the stage tech yelled. They all smiled at each other, then ran onstage to do the thing that they all loved.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! I wrote this story on February 2, 2018. It's not my favorite story, but I'm running out of these kind of stories to post. Most of what I currently have left is stuff that will have to be posted in parts, and I'll be posting them soon! I hope everyone enjoyed this, and send requests if you have them!  
> Lots of love,   
> Liv


End file.
